First Build (Budget Gaming PC)

[pilulerouge]

This is my first major build, and I have several parts selected. However, I am of course looking for cost efficient alternatives that still retain a decent performance. Critiques and suggestions are welcome.

Approximate Purchase Date: 2-3 Months

Budget Range: $600-$800

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, General Use

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitors, speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, amazon.com

Country: USA (I plan to home-build.)

Parts Preferences: AMD CPU

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No (but I may want the option in the future)

Monitor Resolution: 1600x900

Additional Comments: would like to maintain balance between price and functionality

Parts:

Case: NZXT GAMMA Classic Series GAMA-001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146061

PSU: OCZ ZS Series 750W 80PLUS Bronze High Performance Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandy Bridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341049

CPU: AMD Phenom II X2 560 Black Edition Callisto 3.3GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Desktop Processor HDZ560WFGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103887

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-970A-UD3 AM3 AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128519

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

Graphics: EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) FPB 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130625

HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148697

Drive: ASUS Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Drive Model BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135247

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

I have also taken into account the SATA cables for the HDD and the Optic Drive.

My Newegg cart currently stands at $793.53. Any suggestions to boost performance while maintaining my price range are greatly appreciated.

 

[elayman]

You motherboard should come with SATA cables - you shouldn't need to purchase extras.

I'd drop the power supply to around 550W and use the saved money on a 560Ti

I also tend to prefer the sandy bridge or ivy bridge intel processors since I hear they perform better. You can get an i3 2120 or 2100 and a p67 motherboard for roughly the same price.

 

[cranked]

You motherboard should come with SATA cables - you shouldn't need to purchase extras.

I'd drop the power supply to around 550W and use the saved money on a 560Ti

I also tend to prefer the sandy bridge or ivy bridge intel processors since I hear they perform better. You can get an i3 2120 or 2100 and a p67 motherboard for roughly the same price.

Where did you "hear" that sb outperforms ib? Get the ib unless there is a substantial cost difference.

 

[elayman]

Where did you "hear" that sb outperforms ib? Get the ib unless there is a substantial cost difference.

Sorry it wasn't clear, but if you read carefully, I was saying I prefer sandy OR ivy over the one the OP suggested (ie. AMD).

 

[bigcyco1]

Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard -- $121.99 @ Newegg
CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 3.1GHz Dual-Core Processor -- $89.99 @ Microcenter
GPU: XFX Radeon HD 6850 1GB -- $119.99 @ Newegg
RAM: G.Skill Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory -- $39.99 @ Newegg
Hard Drive & Optical Drive Combo: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB & ASUS DVD Burner -- $79.98
PSU: Corsair 430W ATX12V -- $26.98 @ Newegg
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case-- $49.99 @ Newegg COMES OUT TO AROUND $532 (prices include shipping & mail-in rebate)

 

[elayman]

^ He has an $800 budget, I'd get the GTX 670 and a better PSU 550-650W 80+ bronze or better.

 

[bigcyco1]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2400 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z68 PRO3 GEN3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $794.92
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-05-26 14:43 EDT-0400)